The Magic Flute

4
WNO's touring Magic Flute, does it sparkle?
By Robert Iles - 22nd Oct 2010

Mozart's comic/masonic opera is a tortuous and strange little story beefed up into a truly memorable opera,let me say up front Iove it ...

WNO is a very strong company which I have seen and enjoyed on numerous occasions so I was delighted when they booked this production into the Bristol Hippodrome ... Peter Wedd's Tamino was suitably leading man despite a real frog in the throat moment on the night we saw which involved total loss of voice control even after the magical glass of water from the wings ;-) Elizabeth Watts has a beautiful voice and gave us a very credible Pamina. In this opera, perhpas particularly this production, the cast are called upon to ACT as well as sing, something not all opera 'stars' can do comfortably ... no problems with this cast though - it was carried off beautifully.

Neal Davies Papageno was so strong it stole the stage, no bad thing for this lovable rogue and he got a delightful Paspagena in Claire Hampton who seemed to really enjoy her "old woman" acting! Pure panto really but plenty of energy to keep the show rolling along.

The boys and maids were excellent, as were the principles from The Brotherhood ... especially Howard Kirk's Les Dawson style Monostatos .. i also enjoyed the animals of the forest ... so very sophisticated! Whilst Tim Mirfin's Sorastro was, at times,hard to follow (the curse of the bass) he was suitably superior in the role and Laure Meloy had a lovely voice and delivery for The Queen of the Night but, for me, needed more visual impact - perhaps plasterer's stilts to give her height and 'swoosh'?!

Whilst there are some truly magical set pieces in this, and it is a very enjoyable (and visually exciting) evening, I did feel that it just missed the target in a few areas - mostly, for me,the discipline of The Brotherhood. Those set piece moments, particularly lifting and replacing the floor tiles, should be ones of complete synchronisation - there were flashes when everything happened together but mostly it lost its power through simple messiness, it had me thinking of Dad's  Army, why didn't they just do it to "1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1"? I also felt that the Queen of the Night's entrances lacked impact - not the actresses fault, just a lack of oomph somewhere - a criticism I would also level at "the trials", dull I'm afraid ...

The good bits? The maids made us all laugh, a lot! The boys were, in my opinion, excellent and the charming of the guards by musical music was , indeed, charming and had us all chuckling for quite a while. The Magritte influenced design worked very well for me with some lovely moments and design quips ... and a full chorus in orange is a stunning thing to see.

With the cuts just announced I fear for the future of such events; large orchestras, lavish designs, substantial choruses may be under threat, indeed the whole touring opera world (where it receives arts funding) must feel very uncertain at present and its loss would be a tragedy ... this was not an elitist evening for the rich, the Bristol Hippodrome was packed with all sorts, young and old, people who had dressed up and those who had simply turned up ... it would be a tragedy to lose this in the regions and for opera to return to just a few, over-priced, houses out of the reach (financially and geographically) of so many people.

Go see, especially if you think opera is not for you, and enjoy ...


Latest News & Reviews

28th Mar 24 :: Review: The Wizard of Oz
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
4
27th Mar 24 :: Critics Circle Awards
The winners of this year's Critics' Circle Theatre Awards have been announced.
22nd Mar 24 :: Review: The Motive and the Cue
Live broadcast seen at the Regal Cinema, Wadebridge.
5
12th Mar 24 :: Review: Macbeth
English Touring Theatre (ETT) production seen in Worthing,
3
7th Mar 24 :: Review: The Life of Pi
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth
5
6th Mar 24 :: Review: And Then There Were None
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
2
5th Mar 24 :: Review: Musclebound
Seen at The Front Room, Weston-super-Mare
3
2nd Mar 24 :: Review: Marry Me A Little
Seen at The Stage Door Theatre, Drury Lane
2
28th Feb 24 :: Review: Cable Street
Seen at the Southwark Playhouse, Borough.
3
28th Feb 24 :: Review: Carlos Acosta - On Before
Seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth
4
26th Feb 24 :: Offies Winners 2024
WInners of the Offies 2024 awards have been announced.
15th Feb 24 :: Review: The Drifters Girl
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
4
12th Feb 24 :: Review: Whatsonstage Awards Winners
The winners of the Whatsonstage Awards announced.
0
6th Feb 24 :: Review: Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell
Selected dates until 26 February at the Coach and Horses, 29 Greek Street, London W1D 5DH
4
5th Feb 24 :: Review: Macbeth
David Tennant and Cush Jumbo at the Donmar Warehouse
4
20th Jan 24 :: Review: Disney's Aladdin
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
4
19th Jan 24 :: Review: Alegria - Cirque du Soleil
The latest production seen at the Royal Albert Hall
3
20th Dec 23 :: Review: Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Pantomime seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth
4
18th Dec 23 :: Review: Sleeping Beauty
Panto at the Pavilion Theatre, Worthing.
4
13th Dec 23 :: Review: A Christmas Carol
Guy Masterson's one-man production seen in Boscastle
5

Most Popular Stories

Viewings over the last 10 days
 
Birmingham Royal Ballet - Black Sabbath
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
Posted 13th Oct 23 :: 152 views
And Then There Were None
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
Posted 6th Mar 24 :: 115 views
The Motive and the Cue
Live broadcast seen at the Regal Cinema, Wadebridge.
Posted 22nd Mar 24 :: 108 views
Cable Street
Seen at the Southwark Playhouse, Borough.
Posted 28th Feb 24 :: 102 views
The Life of Pi
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth
Posted 7th Mar 24 :: 101 views
Musclebound
Seen at The Front Room, Weston-super-Mare
Posted 5th Mar 24 :: 97 views
The Drifters Girl
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
Posted 15th Feb 24 :: 89 views
Macbeth
English Touring Theatre (ETT) production seen in Worthing,
Posted 12th Mar 24 :: 85 views
Carlos Acosta - On Before
Seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth
Posted 28th Feb 24 :: 74 views
The Wizard of Oz
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
Posted 28th Mar 24 :: 73 views


Listings powered by Dynamic Listing Ltd
Mastodon X - Twitter Multidomain certificate installed
© Dynamic Listing Ltd, UK. 1995-2024